Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Peter 4:7

"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore of sound mind, and be sober unto prayer:" — 1 Peter 4:7 (ASV)

The end of all things is at hand.—Or, has come near; it is the same word (for instance) as in Matthew 4:17; Matthew 26:46. It is merely a repetition in other words of 1 Peter 4:5, inserted again to give weight to all the exhortations that follow. Probably, if St. Peter had thought the world would last twenty more centuries, he would have expressed himself differently; yet see 2 Peter 3:4–10.

Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.—These words sum up the cautions given in 1 Peter 4:1–6, before moving on to the next subject. The first verb includes more than sobriety and means keeping a check on all desires. The usual notion of sobriety is more accurately conveyed by the word rendered “watch,” which is the same as in 1 Peter 1:13 and 1 Peter 5:8. “Unto prayer” is a slip for unto prayers; the difference is that it does not mean that we are to be always in a frame of mind to pray, but that actual prayers should always be on our lips: every incident in life should suggest them. These prayers would be especially necessary if the end of the world could arrive at any moment. The tense of the imperatives in the Greek suggests that the persons addressed had slipped into a careless state from which they needed to be roused.

On verses 7-11:

The end of the world is not far off; let it find you not only sober, but (above all else) exerting an intense charity within the Church by hospitality and generosity, and in these efforts, as much as in spiritual ministrations, seeking not your own glory, but God’s.